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Contents • v CONTENTS Introduction vii 1 • Oasis in a Gritty City 1 2 • The Ideal Suburb 11 3 • Mr. Smith Sells a Farm 27 4 • Mr. Smith Sells a Railroad 36 5 • Shaping Solid Forms 48 6 • A Difficult Birth at the Public Square 58 7 • The Beginnings of an Empire 71 8 • To the South, East, and North 85 9 • Taking Stock: 1924 100 10 • Some Shadows Fleet By 114 11 • Building, Rebuilding, and Juggling 125 12 • Consolidation Anarchy I: The Maverick and the General 141 13 • Consolidation Anarchy II: The Street Fighter 151 14 • The Summit I: An Appalachian Peak in the Rockies 161 15 • The Summit II: Filling Out the Railroad Map 174 vi • Contents 16 • The Summit III: Consummation in Cleveland—and a Jolt 188 17 • Completions and Complications 200 18 • Taking Stock: 1930 217 19 • Sudden Darkness 234 20 • The Rails Roll Downgrade 246 21 • A New World 255 22 • The Cruelest Year 269 23 • The Last Train 281 24 • Epilogue I: New Empires from Old 292 25 • Epilogue II: The Ghosts 305 Notes 313 Sources and Acknowledgments 333 Index 337 ...

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